Science with Sabine

Is science coming to an end? On the one hand, it seems like scientific progress has slowed to a crawl and no big breakthroughs are happening any more. On the other hand, we are left with many unsolved problems in science that I am pretty sure have a solution. In this episode, I explain why I think that we need to seriously consider the possibility that we live in the final phase of scientific disc...

Today we’ll talk about why Mars glows green, an amazingly cool way to make magnets hover, a study which found that a supposed piece of alien tech isn’t alien tech, surprising absolutely no one, plans to use the entire moon as a gravitational wave detector, progress with D-wave’s quantum computer, why Saturn’s rings will temporarily become invisible, wires that learn, energy from indoor lights, and...

Everyone is talking about Net Zero. But Net Zero what? What does this even mean? Is it a reasonable goal? How far are we on the way? And do we have any chance of reaching it? For this video, we have collected all facts and numbers that you need to join the discussion. This episode comes with a quiz which you can take here.

Today we have an update on the biggest astrophysics drama of the year, that’s an observation which seems to be ruling out the most popular alternative to dark matter. Then we have a group of geologists who claim that parts of the moon are stuck in the mantle of earth, a new and quite plausible explanation for the sudden dimming and brightening of the star Betelgeuse, plans for a smaller and more e...

This week we have new evidence that the dinosaurs were killed by the aftermath of an asteroid impact, then we have a look at the biggest universe simulation ever, talk about a lost continent that’s been found, roman ruins in spy footage, a new record for a single photon camera, an asteroid that might contain chemical elements which are not in the periodic table, super lightning bolts, solar glass,...

Science never rests and this week we have quite a selection of news. It looks like the sun’s magnetic field will flip earlier than expected, the moon is 40 million years older than anyone thought, a group of geologists have found that Earth’s core is leaking, we’ll have a look at the tiniest particle accelerator ever, why airline pricing is such a mess, hear what the International energy agency ha...

The weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic seem god-sent solutions for everyone who has been struggling to lose weight, a miracle cure for a problem that befalls billions of people, even Elon Musk. But what makes the drug so effective? What do we know about it? And who’s going to pay for it? This episode comes with a quiz which you can take here.

Today we will talk about why coin flips are not fifty-fifty, starquakes, the most powerful solar storm ever, space debris, IBM’s new brain-inspired computer chip, an exoplanet collision, a new tectonic plate, projections for AI power consumption, and of course the telephone will ring. You can take the quiz for this episode here.

In today's episode I explain why the many world's interpretation is neither simple nor local. This episode comes with a quiz which you can take here.

Welcome everyone to this week’s science news. This week we’ll talk about three new laws of nature, one of which supposedly shows that we live in a computer simulation. We’ll have a first look at intergalactic filaments, talk about building roads on the moon, whether chatbots understand what they chat about, a new type of qubit with a low error rate, sound waves in crystals, how to deflect lasers w...

What does physics say about time travel? Surprisingly enough it doesn't just say it's impossible, it's more complicated than that. In this video I'll sort out what Einstein's general relativity and quantum mechanics tell us about time travel. And is MIT really building a time machine to find dark matter? We'll get to that. This video has a quiz which you can take here.

In this week's science news, I talk about a new candidate for a cosmic string, the mysterious shrinking of planet Mercury, a nuclear clock, the first quantum engine, a simulator for human diseases, whether we can find new physics with spinning black holes, AI that wants to help find aliens, how to compute with photons, and of course, the telephone will ring. This episode comes with a quiz.

What if we could harness the power of photons to process information? We can! It's called photonic computing. It's one of the new approaches to quantum computing - and it's looking more and more likely that it could be the key to make quantum computers work. It's not the only newcomer. In this video, we'll take a look at photonic computing and two other newcomers: optical tweez...

Today we’ll talk about the Nobel Prize in physics, yet another superconductor retraction, whether Integrated Information theory is pseudoscience, why antimatter doesn’t anti-gravitate, sand that flows uphill which I swear has nothing to do with antigravity, the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, how life could come about on other planets, why we might go extinct sooner than expected, and of course...

Today we talk about raisins. Yes, raisins. Quasars with dark matter halos, pink diamonds, the last moments of a dying satellite, a new type of qubit, maybe, how to measure the length of the day with lasers, a new treatment method for brain cancer that’s got something to do with quantum mechanics, whether climate change drives migration, and of course, the telephone will ring. The quiz for this epi...

If people knew one thing about Steven Weinberg, it’d be a quote from one of his books: “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” In this episode, I want to speculate about what he might have meant. Is the universe pointless?

Today we talk about the possibly first evidence for life on an exoplanet, with some caveats, chaos at the centre of the Milky Way, earthquake lights, a really old rock, noise cancellation for qubits, good news about air pollution, wifi that can see through walls, origami robots, the 2024 Breakthrough Prizes, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Today I talk about how we talk, or how we communicate information on social media in general. Why is it so difficult to communicate on social media, what’s a parasocial relationship, and what are the problems with it? Interestingly enough, it's a question that scientists have studied.

Today we talk about a bubble of galaxies, a climate scientist who made his own paper worse, double magic oxygen, a chemical reaction slowed down 100 billion times, Maxwell’s demon in biology, intelligent life on earth, the launch of a new X-ray space mission, drone racing, and of course the telephone will ring.

What is web3? I've tried to figure it out and here is my summary of what I have learned about NFTs and cryptocurrencies, about dapps and defi and blockchains, and all that.

I’ve noticed that a lot of scientists on social media make jokes about people who do their own research. This has been going on ever since COVID and it’s only been getting worse. We’re now at the point where they’re claiming you’re only allowed to talk about a topic if you’re an expert yourself. Don’t you dare commenting on anything you don’t have a PhD in! I think this nonsense has been going on...

Today we talk about superchemistry, music in the brain, how to create matter from light, contrails, objects that take strange turns, why phone batteries might soon become replaceable, how to control fire, why we have to think about preventing hurricanes, and of course, the telephone will ring.

I've seen a lot of headlines recently that we supposedly have a mental health crisis. Some say it's global, some refer to specific countries, the USA, Spain, Australia. What is going on? In this episode we collect all the numbers and see what we can make of them.

Today we talk about the muon anomaly at Fermilab, say good-bye to LK99, hear from scientists who say that sun is brighter than we thought, look at a new ion trap, talk about talk about a cold blob, plans for a new space station, delay with NASA’s trip to the moon, freeze rays, the smallest traffic light ever, and of course, the telephone will ring.

In the past 10 years or so, tech specialists have repeatedly voiced concerns that the progress of computing power will soon hit the wall. Miniaturisation has physical limits, and then what? Have we reached these limits? Is Moore’s law dead? That’s what we’ll talk about today.